1. #Bookstagram; 2. Why the Library?

Abstract

PRESENTATION 1 ABSTRACT: #Bookstagram: Implementing Collaborative Social Media Training in the Library - Alex O'Keefe and Alex Bortell, School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Social media has become an integral component of outreach, providing a distinct voice for the library. Recognizing the importance of student workers’ perspectives and the fact that they are at the forefront of content creation in their own lives, the John M. Flaxman Library piloted a Student Worker Content Creators program. Making institutional Instagram content modernizes students’ professional development and provides skills they can use beyond the library. Through the program, students learn to design appropriate content while collaboratively shaping training implementation. The individualized and independent approach gives students agency to learn through hands-on processes, while their honest feedback improves the quality of the experience. The presenters will discuss developing training through collaborative modifications and the outcomes for one student worker. They will also share advice based on their successes and failures for others who are interested in building a content creators program or generally creating collaborative training processes.

PRESENTATION 2 ABSTRACT: Why the Library? Students' Perspectives on the Value of their Work - Liz Vine and Paul Moffett, IUPUI. This presentation describes a student employee-led project designed to display the value of their work to prospective new student employees, and at the same time allow us to care for their well-being during the pandemic. The “Why Project” enabled student employees to explore the context of their work and make connections between their everyday activities and the purpose of an academic library. Our presentation will explain ways in which students were treated as collaborators instead of subordinates, extended trust and freedom to work remotely to design a product, and continued to receive support and remain connected. We will compare the elements of the “Why Project” to principles described in Cate Denial’s “A Pedagogy of Kindness” which we identified as present in our work.